What a year it has been! COVID and then hurricane season kept us holed up in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle (near Puerto Vallarta in beautiful Banderas Bay) for 15 months. We fled the heat of Pacific Mexico for July, August, and September, driving north to do medical appointments and and see family. We were lucky […]
Sewing a Sport-a-Seat Cover
Many cruising boats have an adjustable padded seat on board. The Sport-a-Seat is a great one, and West Marine has one as well. We end up sitting in a lot of awkward places (on top of hatches or piles of lines, against railings and other hard objects) and these help make that comfortable. However they […]
Sewing Jerry Jug Covers
Jerry jugs for diesel or gasoline sit on deck on many cruising boats, especially those crossing oceans. However the plastic needs protection from the hot sun so covers are pretty important for long-term longevity. But let me admit I hate doing jerry jug covers. They are fussy with cut-outs and shaped areas for the spouts […]
How to Dock Without Jumping
There are two ways to do this depending on whether you are reversing into position or going forward to a halt. In each case the engine direction is in opposition to the placement of the line – for a reverse approach you use a forward spring loop, for a forward approach you use an aft […]
Vacation from Vacation
Although only someone who hasn’t done it would call full-time cruising in foreign ports a “vacation”, still it has many vacation aspects. We recently left our boat and drove 3000 miles to northern Washington state to take care of some necessary business including yearly medical visits. Although the cool air here is a relief from […]
Boat Life in Time of Plague
Being sequestered on a sailboat in a small Mexican town during the COVID-19 “plague” has been a time of contrasts. Surrounded by beautiful ocean water, but not allowed to swim. Cute cheap places to eat – all closed. Islands to explore – but all closed to anchoring. While things slowly closed around us the things […]
